Please interact with your kids, not your i-whatsit!

[oldgrandmama]

It's depressing - seeing mums with babies and toddlers in buggies, or toddlers toddling beside them, but what is mum doing? Studying her i-thingie or whatever is the latest gizmo in her hand.

Being ancient and of the opinion that mobile phones were originally just for making and receiving calls and texts, I honestly don't know what the hell she's looking at. Games? The Footsie? Emails? Online book? Surfing the web? Porn? All I know is that there's a little person that she's not interacting with in any way. No doubt this post will bring down the full wrath of Mumsnet on my head but honestly, small kids NEED interaction with their mothers or carers, not to be ignored because it's apparently more important to study some gizmo. Is it really SO important to never take your eyes of the damn thing that you pay your little one no attention whatsoever.

OK - bring on the condemnation. I have broad shoulders!

This couldn't be more obvious if you'd put a little flag on it.

"Is it really SO important to never take your eyes of the damn thing that you pay your little one no attention whatsoever"

Because you'd be able to tell that that was happening all the time just by wandering past someone for 5 seconds

Toddler group is a place I can release DD into the wild, safely, and ignore her.

Oh yes.

Damn those I-Thingies!!

i-Thingy

So texting is OK? Perhaps that's what she was doing. Not looking at porn at all!

I understand your point of view.

Actually, I think parents spend far more time interacting with their kids these days than they ever did.

In the olden days, parents just used to shove the kids in playpens or stick the pram outside.

I subscribe to the ideal of "good enough" parenting meself.

I agree ro a certain extent, to the point that if that was all they did when with their kids, but five minutes here or there isn't going to hurt anybody, yabu.

I'm a nanny, when I take my three to the park I spend five minutes whilst they have a snack and drink checking my texts and emails, it's the only break I get and they are more than happy to entertain themselves for five minutes, I'm not going to begrudge a mother the same thing!

Pretty sure there's been research that mothers in the 1970s interacted with their children much less than mothers today - the kids were all in playpens or running feral in the streets while mummy did the housework and hated her life of drudgery.

Yes ma'am!

Oh and, what about fathers?

OK. I understand that kids need interaction etc. But have you ever considered that the mums need a little break too? My ds is 2.4. I'm a sahm. I love him dearly but good god sometimes I just need to zone out for a couple of minutes. There's only so many times I can listen to 'mummy mummy mummy mummy' in the space of an hour before I start to go mad.

I don't spend all day on any ' gadget ' but honestly a few mins here and there isn't going to damage a child forever. Youre telling me that you've never read a book or had a conversation or taken a phone call in the company of your DC??

I'm not condoning people spending all day everyday ignoring their children, but honestly, chill out. You don't know the circumstances.

Read this - and then wind your neck in.

friedokra4me.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/dear-mom-on-iphone-i-get-it.html

Give mothers a break. The modern craze for providing a 24/7 "developmentally optimal" environment for kids is unnecessary and puts a huge strain on mothers.

Well, for the love of God, oldgrandmama, get off mn and go rescue all those poor children from their i-loving, toddler ignoring parents!

YANBU. I was on a train the other day on a long journey and a set of parents were on their tablets the whole time. Poor kid of theirs was so bored it was climbing under the table at one point. They still didn't take notice of her. Hello....talk to your kid.

What's your viewpoint on fathers who so this, OP, you haven't bothered to mention them?

I had a good old-fashioned session of ignoring DD this morning - with a newspaper!

I do see your point a bit, though. I can often find myself checking completely unimportant things on my phone which 3 months ago (before I had one) I would have left until I got home.

Mittens

I just had a blocked/malware notice come up when I tried to open that link.

does mumsnet count?

If you have school-age children, you're pretty much expected to check your phone umpteen times a day. School messages are sent via text, parents of ill or injured children are usually contacted via a mobile.

These days, being un-contactable via phone is considered to be a big no-no.

I'm ignoring dd to read this thread on my i-thingy

I am with DS for 16 hours a day every that he isn't in nursery (so 5 days per week). I work from home mainly; usually before he wakes and once he is asleep, but sadly most offices and businesses don't open at 6am or stay open until 9pm.

So if you see me on my i-thingy, it's because I have to reply to a work email urgently, or potentially have to resign from my job as we as a family can't afford childcare and transportation costs for me to work in an office.

Oh, and the other 15 hours and 55 minutes DS is awake? He's with me and cared for and loved and I don't get time to myself even to go to the toilet on my own because I'm busy being a train, a lion or even a dinosaur.

Hear me roar!!!